How To Deal With Anger Issues

Everybody has a bully. It’s either in you or standing real close to you.

Some people might have trouble managing their anger. Others have trouble expressing or letting it out. Let's see how unpleasant emotions like anger and fear can play havoc in our lives. Sometimes it can be downright petrifying. We'll also discuss how to deal with anger issues.

Feeling angry? Ready to run that jerk in front of you off the road, not to mention all the jerks in your life? Learn about anger. How it affects your body. And get 11 strategies that can help you deal with anger issues, and calm life down.

How Do We Define Anger?

Anger is a strong, powerful emotion that can originate from feelings of disappointment, frustration, hurt, or annoyance. It’s an emotion that we all experience from time to time. It can range from petty irritations to strong feelings of rage. Angry feelings are influenced by our emotional make-up, our view of the world, and what is going on around us.

How do you deal with anger issues? Do you hide your feelings or let them explode? Without anger management, both ways can negatively affect both your mind and body.

Anger is a natural, healthy emotion that we all need to express. Sometimes, anger can become uncontrollable and harmful—and it can even lead to violent behavior. The problem is not the anger; it is the way we handle it. This can cause a breakdown in communication. Anger is a by-product of an underlying hurt we’re feeling deep down inside, probably experienced since childhood. Hence, this makes us more vulnerable to our current situation.

Do you remember when you were just a small child, 4 to 5 years old? Were you allowed to say you were angry or show anger? Were you told to go have cookies and milk, or go in your room? Perhaps, your parent said, “No, you’re not angry, you’re just bored,” denying your feelings.

Maybe anger and screaming was an everyday occurrence. That was the norm, the chaos in your house.

Threatening feelings seemed to result from both external and internal events.

Examples of external triggers include a spouse’s lack of attention, a coworker’s slight remark, teenagers’ behavior outbursts, a traffic jam, or the neighbor’s loud stereo, or even their dogs barking.

Internal triggers include worrying or brooding about personal problems, feelings of not being good enough, not having a voice, misperceptions, and fearful thoughts.

Other Reasons For Getting Angry Include:

Being physically or verbally assaulted

Feeling a hit to our self-esteem, or our egos

Interruptions when focusing on a goal

Losing money on a bet

Someone defying or arguing about a principle that we consider important

Being treated unfairly or perceiving that we are, and feeling powerless to change this

Feeling disappointed by someone else

If you’re explosive, you need to resolve this behavior because of the hostility it can cause to your relationships. People often deny that they even have a problem; they’ll justify their actions no matter what.

Learn Healthy Behaviors

The Two Faces of Anger | The Silent Stuffer and the Electric Explosive

Silent Stuffer

Silent Stuffers hide their real feelings. They will not admit that they are angry and have an even harder time expressing it. They minimize their hurts and are reluctant to share with others.

Why do stuffers stuff? There are many possible reasons:

They are uncomfortable with confrontation. They might have been a child in a family where anger was not allowed, where feelings were kept inside oneself. And now, decades later, the behavior continues. Feelings of shame and low self-esteem make them feel as if they’re not worthy of being heard, and this fear inhibits their willingness to express anger to anyone. They have a need to feel safe and have the approval of others.

Electric Explosive

The Electric Explosives need to find a way to get rid of this behavior because of the bullish “in your face” hostile damage it can cause to their relationships. Sometimes they yell. They usually don’t hit but will frequently be found standing/blocking the doorway with outbursts like, “I’m not done talking!” or “How dare you walk out on me!”

Some people are continuously angry. They don’t enjoy life or other people. They appear to have a defensive approach and the mindset that “It’s everyone else’s fault.” This response causes health problems and stress that often lead to headaches, ulcers, and heart disease.

More On the Silent Stuffer (Or Sufferer)

These people are usually the victims. They avoid conflict at any cost and are afraid to express any form of anger, tending to keep their anger and resentment bottled up. This type of anger avoids issues and results in increased tension and a failure to resolve the situation.

Some people display their anger in passive ways, for example, through avoidance, arriving late, or ignoring sarcasm, and they may experience a sense of revenge. They are called passive–aggressive types. These approaches do not directly resolve or confront the problem and are very difficult to change or even identify.

Anger Management

New Attitude

How Does Anger Affect the Mind and Body?

Anger gets the mind and body ready to take action, go into motion. It stimulates our nervous system, increasing the heart rate and blood pressure, supplying blood flow to muscles. Anger also increases blood sugar levels and the body’s ability to sweat. These physical changes are what happen during the fight-or-flight response.

While these physical changes are taking place, so are the thoughts in our mind. When a threat arises, anger helps us quickly translate complex information into simple terms like right or wrong. This is helpful in making quick decisions during an emergency (fight or flight), but it can also cause us to act impulsively without thinking through a situation.

When anger interferes with rational thinking, we may act aggressively, propelled by our natural instinct to survive or protect someone from an impending threat. Some research suggests that inappropriately expressing anger can be harmful to our body. Long-term and intense anger have been linked to mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and self-harm.

People who have anger issues tend to make poor decisions, have risky behavior, and are more likely to have substance abuse problems. Also, pensive, continuous anger is known to aggravate chronic pain disorders, leading to sleep difficulties and/or digestive problems. Research suggests that stress and hostility related to anger can lead to cancer, the flu, colds, and heart problems such as heart attacks, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

What Does Anger Look Like?

Irritability and grumpiness are often signs of anger, as are withdrawing socially, sulking, or getting physically ill. It’s easy to identify someone as angry when he or she is screaming, cursing, and throwing things, but there are many other forms of anger.

As previously mentioned, when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones. People who have anger issues are usually well aware of it. Sometimes they feel their anger go from 1 to 100 instantly. Often behaving in ways that seem out of control and very frightening, they need to find help in dealing with these emotions as soon as possible. Anger issues usually get worse with time.

How To Deal With Anger Issues | 2 Key Mindsets

Anger management treatment is the first response method. It is learning to recognize all the signs that you’re becoming angry, and to take action so that you can calm down and deal with the situation in a positive, healthy way. Anger management is about learning how to appropriately express yourself, especially your angry emotions. It’s about learning what anger is and where your anger comes from, identifying all of your possible triggers. Learning to recognize the mental and physical signs that you’re becoming angry is paramount. Only then can you learn healthy, controlled ways to respond to your feelings.

It is important to remember to explore underlying feelings, such as sadness or depression, to resolve earlier issues.

How To Deal With Anger Issues | 11 Strategies

Take a timeout

Breathe and slow down. Think before reacting. Take a moment or two and count to 10. Sometimes it is necessary to step away from the person or situation until your frustration subsides.

When calm, express your anger

And state your concerns and needs clearly and directly. Don’t try to control or confront the other party or hurt them.

Exercise

As soon as you start to feel anger, before it explodes, take a walk or long run, or choose an activity that you enjoy doing. Stimulating your body and your brain will help you feel happier, healthier, and more relaxed.

Think before you speak

Before you say something you’ll soon regret, press the “pause” button and hold off for a few minutes. Collect your thoughts and allow others involved in the situation to do the same.

Look for possible answers and solutions

We often focus on what made us mad or upset. Instead, assess the situation and remind yourself that anger isn’t the answer and won’t lead to a solution. In fact, it might make matters worse.

Use the word ‘I’ whenever possible

Blaming and criticizing the other person will only increase the angry feelings and tension. Instead, use “I” statements to describe the problem in a helpful, understanding, mutually accepting way. For example, you might say, “I’m upset that you didn’t take the dogs for a walk this morning” instead of “You never take the dogs for a walk.”

Self-Talk

Instead of saying, “I’m worthless” or “I can’t control myself,” use the third-party approach in your head. For example, tell yourself, “Joe, you can’t control yourself” rather than “I can’t control myself.” This will help you create distance from the emotion. It will help you think more clearly and rationally. You will see the situation a bit differently.

Forgiveness

Don’t let anger and other negative feelings crowd out the positive ones. Avoid being swallowed up by bitterness or a sense of injustice. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to behave exactly as you want at all times. Forgive them, and move on.

Use humor

Be funny, silly, and lighten up. Easing up on the situation can help diffuse tension. However, avoid using sarcasm as it can hurt feelings and make matters worse.

Practice good self-care.

Seek Help From an Expert On Anger

Learning to control anger is very challenging, but it’s imperative for a happy, calm life. Consider seeking help if you are hurting yourself or others, or if your anger seems out of control and you are often regretting your actions. Or seek help if all this anger is just making you plain miserable!

Health Resort

Take life to the next level, and be all that you can be. That’s what a vacation at Pritikin is all about. Live better. Look better. Best of all, feel better.

Coral Arvon, PhD

Director of Behavioral Health & Wellness

Dr. Coral Arvon has garnered national acclaim for her expertise in overcoming challenges like anxiety and chronic stress. She also has extensive experience in sex therapy and in helping people conquer addictions, particularly food disorders like emotional eating and obsessive/compulsive eating.

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